Dark Shadows..A Shadow of Burton's Brilliance

The Collaboration of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp has given us some great cinematic moments in the last 2 Decades. With Dark Shadows they complete their 9th films together and honestly I feel it's high time that they part their ways. Dark Shadows is by far the worst film by the duo. The Magic was simply missing and the mediocre approach is surprising. So neither it becomes epic like ED Wood nor beautiful as Sleepy Hollow or dark as Sweeney Todd or deep as Edward Scissor-hands instead Dark Shadows is plain and ordinary.
It's about Barnabas Collins the Vampire who after being held captive inside a Coffin for 2 centuries ( 196 Years to be precise) becomes free in 1970s. Now how he manages to restore the fate of the Collin family and Punishes the evil witch Angelique, forms the drama of nearly 2 hours.
There are a lot of problems with the film. The plot is ludicrous and thin like a paper, the narrative is surprisingly so unimaginative, direction is indifferent and acting is too melodramatic and loud. So ensemble cast of so many talented actors seemed too depended on Depp and the ridiculous screenplay does not help them either.

The story does bring out occasional laughs here & there but unfortunately they are too few and the ace director employs some cheap tricks to give the weak screenplay a funny touch and that is so unlike Tim Burton. Johnny Depp is the life of the otherwise ordinary screenplay and he does full justice to the role, infact I feel he was really very good amidst pretty mediocre acting by the impressive cast. But the real concern with Johnny Depp is that off let where he is as usual brilliant in his performances, his films are all too average. It's now sometime that we have got a good film from him.

I love the work of Tim Burton and I was really offbit about this one despite pretty average reviews but to put it nicely I am disappointed. Where as this is not a bad film at all but at the same time nothing to speak of really.
I am going 6 out of 10 for Tim Burton's Dark Shadows, the ever impressive director misses it big time.